I immigrated to Canada from El Salvador in 2010. Very soon after arriving I decided to pursue a career as a lawyer. One of the challenges I faced was not having access to inside knowledge about the process I had to follow – I knew no lawyers, law students or law professionals who could share their journey with me.

When I started law school at Thompson Rivers University, I was immediately interested in the CBA. We were all members of the CBA by virtue of being enrolled at TRU; our CBA fees were included in our tuition costs. Over the next year, I started attending a lot of CBA events, and worked hard to teach my fellow students about the CBA, and the important work that it does.

This spring, I spoke to law students at the University of Ottawa as part of an initiative by the National Labour and Employment Law Section, and the CBA more broadly, to engage and involve younger members of our profession in CBA activities.